Horse Grooming Services Danvers MA

Local resource for horse grooming in Danvers. Includes detailed information on local businesses that provide access to horse groomers, as well as advice and content on animal grooming, pet care, horse brushes, and horse auctions.

4. Draw blood for initial blood counts of the horse at rest. Evaluate profile for liver and kidney function, red and white cell count, muscle enzymes, and any other checks the buyer requests.

5. Weigh the horse. Measure the horse. Document markings.

6. Move to the 100-foot, firm-surfaced, covered longing pen. Longe horse in a specific gait sequence for 12 to 15 minutes, or longer if the horse is an endurance prospect. Listen to heart and lungs again. Draw second blood sample to measure red blood cell counts and hemoglobin, comparing the at exercise profile to the at rest profile.

7. Conduct flexion tests on all joints, grading each joint on each limb separately. The horse is trotted from and to the veterinarian after holding the isolated joint for one minute. The veterinarian will note a score of 0 to 5 at five points of the trot cycle, resulting in an ideal (but rare) score of 00000 (a sound horse).

8. Reattach the longe line and send the horse around again for another 10 to 12 minutes in a specific gait sequence to gauge soundness during extended work.

9. If appropriate, saddle or harness the horse and watch a performance sessio...

Take Off the Edge

In the September 2004 Western Horseman print feature "Defensive Care," Indiana equine practitioner Timothy Bartlett, D.V.M., offers advice on preventing lower-leg injuries in performance horses. Two of his tips are to properly condition and warm up your horse.

Longeing is a common technique used to work the fresh off horses and to get horses in shape. What you might not realize, however, is that out-of-control longeing - whether the horse is on or off a line - can cause body misalignments, such as canted shoulders and hips, which strains leg tissues and puts a horse at risk for losing his balance and injuring himself.

In this online bonus, Bartlett explains how to bit up your horse and work him in a controlled manner from the ground. His technique also enhances your handle on a horse when you're ready to ride.

Saddle your horse and bridle him with snaffle bit. Place a rein on each bit ring and tie the reins to the saddle horn at a point they make light contact with your horse's mouth. This encourages him to flex at the poll, round his back and drive off his hindquarters for collected movement.

Next, run a 30-foot lariat through the left bit ring, over your horse's poll and down through the right bit ring, and snap it to itself, as shown in Photos 1 and 2. This configuration enhances your control, plus helps keep your horse balanced as he moves, thereby reducing strains and injury.

Longe your horse in a safe enclosure, such as a corral or round pen, b...

Under Massachusetts law, an equine professional is not liable for an injury to, or death of, a participant in equine activities resulting from the inherent risks of equine activities, pursuant to section 2D of chapter 128 of the General Laws. (Sign posting required.)